


I’m Christmasin’ With You

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Something More [3]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 07:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2420939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily felt 15 all over again, except she was probably more experienced then than she was now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I’m Christmasin’ With You

**Author's Note:**

> This should probably be my last Christmas story but maybe not. It takes place in the canon universe where the events of _100_ took place. This is Hotch and Prentiss as friends and maybe something more. [](http://chiroho.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://chiroho.livejournal.com/)**chiroho** , I hope you enjoy it. This is **#3** in the **Something More** series.

They were all chatting, drinking cocoa, and laughing with each other when the doorbell rang.

“Were you expecting anyone else?” Emily asked.

“No.” her stepmother Natalie stood as she shook her head.

Ambassador Gregory Prentiss stood as well, telling his wife he would answer the door. Natalie sat back down with Emily. He walked out of the den, down the short hallway, and through the living room. In the foyer, he looked out the peephole and saw a man with a little boy. Opening the door, he smiled a greeting.

“Agent Hotchner?” Gregory opened the security door. “I have to say I'm surprised to see you tonight.”

“I can't believe you remembered my face, Sir.” Hotch came into the house. He put two large gift bags on the floor, extending his hand. “Its good to see you again; Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas. Who’s your companion this evening?”

“This is my son, Jack.” Hotch put him down as well. “Jack, do you want to say hello to Ambassador Prentiss?”

“Hello.” Jack held out his hand just as his father had.

“Hi there, Jack.” Gregory shook his hand. “Let’s get you guys out of these coats. It’s a really cold night and I heard driving conditions aren’t that good.”

“I can't say it was fun but we took our time.” Hotch replied. “It was important that we be here.”

“I hope you like pancakes, Aaron; surely you'll be here for breakfast as well.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Sir, where’s Emily?” Jack asked while his father peeled him out of several layers of clothing.

“She’s in the den.” Gregory replied.

“I’ma go and find her.” Jack broke out in a run. “Emily!”

“Jack!” Hotch called after him but Gregory just shook his head and grinned.

“Jack?” Emily stood when she heard the familiar little voice. “Jack, where are you?”

“Emily!” His whole face lit up when he saw her. He rushed at her with torpedo speed. Catching him in her arms, Emily fell back on the couch. Jack kissed her cheek. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas to you, sweetheart. What are you doing here?”

“We wanted to be with you.” Jack replied, hugging her. When her father walked in with Hotch, Emily was practically speechless. She stood, Jack still holding onto her.

“Hotch, what are you doing here?” She asked.

“You invited me.”

“You declined.” Emily countered.

“I was wrong. I hope you don’t mind a couple of party crashers tonight.”

“Of course I…”

“I surely don’t.” Natalie said, standing up.

“The matriarch has spoken.” Emily’s older sister, Julia, replied. “So say we all.”

“I'm going to get you guys some cocoa.” Natalie said. “You probably caught a chill out in that storm.”

“Thank you so much.” Hotch said smiling. “Ma'am, we haven’t been formally introduced but I feel as if I've known you for quite a while. I'm Aaron Hotchner.”

“Natalie Prentiss,” She gave him a hug. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“I'm Jack.”

Natalie smiled and hugged him too.

“Hello, Jack. Would you like to help with the cocoa?”

“Yes.” He nodded as Emily put him down on the carpet. Natalie took his hand and they were off to the kitchen.

“Are you going to introduce us to your friend, Em?” Julia asked.

“I’d like to meet him,” her thirteen-year old niece, Marianne, said. “He’s cute.”

“Please excuse her,” Julia glared at her daughter. “She’s high on cookies and hormones.”

“I need to talk to you alone for a moment.” Emily said. She took Hotch’s hand and pulled him out of the line of fire. Not wanting to be overheard in the hallway, she took him into the living room. Once in there, Emily found she had difficulty getting out what she wanted to say. Where would she even begin?

“I've embarrassed you in front of your family.” Hotch said. “I apologize; that was never my intent.”

“I just…I wasn’t expecting this at all. There’s a storm outside.”

“It’s just some snow right now. The real deal will be the overnight hours and tomorrow morning. Anyway, I drive a truck so we were fine. I don’t know why I declined your invitation in the first place. I thought it would be important to have Jack somewhere he was comfortable; we've always spent Christmas with Jessie. I was welcome there even after Haley and I split up. When I tucked him in last night, he asked if you were going to spend Christmas with us. That’s when I realized that not all change is a bad thing.”

“I never want to step on Jessie’s toes, Hotch. I know how important being with Jack is to her, especially after losing her sister.”

“Jess always has a big Christmas and I talked to her about it. I hope she’s alright; I certainly didn’t want to hurt her. One thing about Jess, she gets me pretty well. Jack will be with her over the weekend so they’ll have lots of quality time together.”

“You could’ve told me that you were coming.” Emily said.

“And miss that priceless look on your face?” Hotch asked, grinning. “No way. I thought it would be a nice surprise. You always said you didn’t like surprises; I wanted to change your mind.”

“You have.”

Unable to hold back anymore, Emily hugged him. She felt Hotch exhale and wrap his arms around her. It seemed like an eternity since she felt his embrace. No matter what, they were Hotch and Prentiss in the field. The two agents were quite separate from Aaron and Emily. Aaron and Emily were still on tender footing.

With Jack, they were in sync but alone there were nerves, rambling, and awkwardness. Emily felt 15 all over again, except she was probably more experienced then than she was now. The behavior was unlike the both of them and their anxiety kept them distant. It didn’t make much sense to their rational sides but they had yet to do anything about it.

“C'mon,” Emily moved out of his arms, offering her hand. “We’ll get the painful introduction over with.”

“It shouldn’t be too bad,” Hotch laced his fingers through hers. “I brought gifts.”

“How?”

“Emily, we’ve talked about your family a lot. I made some educated guesses; I am a profiler after all. I think I did well for a first timer.”

“I'm sure everyone will be gracious. That was a lovely gesture.”

They walked back into the den where Jack was holding court. He’d taken the spot on Gregory’s lap; the coveted grandchild spot, Emily thought with a smile. The two of them were singing.

_Then one foggy Christmas Eve_  
Santa came to say  
Rudolph with your nose so bright  
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?  
Then how the reindeer loved him  
And they shouted out with glee  
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer  
You'll go down in history 

They all clapped and Jack did as well, smiling at his father.

“Daddy, guess what?”

“What?”

“Josh talks with his hands. I wanna learn how to talk with my hands.”

“What? What do you mean, Jack?”

“Josh is deaf.” Emily told him. “He uses sign language.”

“Oh.”

“So, family, this is Aaron Hotchner. Hotch and I work together at the BAU. Hotch, this is my sister, Julia, her husband Nick, and my niece and nephew, Marianne and Josh.”

“Hello.” Hotch did the sign and Jack gasped.

“Daddy, you can talk with your hands too?” He asked.

“I'm rusty, buddy.” Hotch signed. “But I do alright.”

“You're doing fine.” Josh, who was seventeen, signed.

“Sit down, Aaron, take a load off.” Natalie made room on the couch for him and Emily. “Do you want some cocoa?”

“Yes, thank you.”

She poured him a cup from the tray on the coffee table and Hotch took the mug.

“So what brings you to our home on Christmas Eve?” Julia asked.

“Emily invited us and I initially declined but Jack wanted to spend this time with her.”

“Are you guys dating?” Marianne asked.

“We’re friends.” Hotch replied.

“You should date him, Aunt Em, he’s cute.”

“Marianne!” Her mother exclaimed. “Don’t embarrass your Aunt…that’s my job.”

“How have you been, Aaron?” Gregory asked. “I hope you received my condolences.”

“Oh yes, Sir, though it seems you didn’t receive my thank you card. I'm sorry about that.”

“I didn’t know you sent condolences, Daddy.”

“Yes, I did. You're back full time with the BAU?”

“Yes, sir. I've also returned to my position as Unit Chief. It’s been…an adjustment.”

“I'm sure. Well, we are very glad to have you, and young Jack.”

Jack hugged Gregory and the older man smiled. It made Emily smile too. It had been so long since her father had a young grandchild. She sometimes felt she was not living up to her end of the daughter deal. While filling the house with grandbabies wasn’t something she thought she could do, her parents deserved one or two kids running around. Josh and Marianne were getting older; had lives of their own. Emily knew her father and Nat missed the pitter patter of little feet.

“We’re very glad to be here. Aren't we, Jack?”

“Yeah. We wanted to be with Emily on Christmas.”

“I'm so happy about that Jack.”

“I think we should show Hotch some Christmases past.” Julia said. “Nat, lets pull out the photo albums.”

“No!” Emily exclaimed. “Oh c'mon, you'll scare him away. He just got here.”

“I would love to see some family photos.” Hotch said.

“Be careful Aaron,” Nick grinned. “We guys don’t get much of a say when the Prentiss sisters get going.”

“I think looking at some family photos is a great idea.” Nat said. “I was going to pull them out anyway.”

Emily groaned, covering her eyes.

“You're going to do this to me, Nat; on Christmas?” She said, knowing she would never win this battle.

“You're beautiful in all of your pictures.” Nat got up from the couch and went over to the cabinet.

“You're my stepmother; you're supposed to say that.”

“Well, I think its time for Josh and I to get into a nice game of chess.” Gregory stood, Jack in his arms.

Josh nodded.

“Jack, have you ever played chess?” Gregory asked.

“No, Sir.” He shook his head.

“You think you want to learn?”

“Yes. Can I, Daddy?”

“Of course buddy. But you know its bedtime soon. We don’t want Santa to pass us by because a certain someone is still awake.”

“Santa knows we’re here, right?” Jack asked. “He won't forget about me?”

“He sure won't.” Hotch replied. “He has a special Jack-o-meter in his sleigh…he can find you all the time.”

“OK.” Jack grinned and left the room with Gregory and Josh.

“He is so adorable.” Julia said smiling. “I remember when Josh was that age; they are amazing every single day.”

“He truly is.” Hotch said. “Sometimes it’s him alone that reminds me that there are still beautiful things in this world.”

Natalie came back with the big photo album. Marianne had retreated into the corner with her iPod touch so it was just the adults.

“What year is that, Nat?” Julia asked.

“1986.”

“Oh God,” Emily mumbled. “This is awful.”

She opened the photo album and the first picture was Emily standing on a porch.

“That’s Emily at the house in Bonn.” Natalie said.

“You don’t look as sullen as I thought you might.” Hotch looked at her.

“I hadn’t quite developed my dark side yet.” She replied.

He saw pictures of her dancing, smiling, and having a good time with her parents.

“How long were we in Bonn, Em?” Natalie asked.

“About six weeks. Then I went back to Mother’s vacation house in Verona. When school started it was back to Rome.”

“Rome? That’s where you knew Matthew.”

“Yeah,” Emily nodded.

He didn’t say anything else. While he knew how much she loved Matthew, Hotch also knew there were some bad memories there. The Emily Prentiss in pictures after that time was probably quite different from the one he looked at now.

“How come you aren’t in any of these photos, Julia?” He asked instead.

“That was the summer before college so I was in Hong Kong with Aunt Jackie. Em did the same before she went off to Yale. Where did you go to college, Aaron?”

“Fordham University,”

“I teach at Fordham.” Nick replied. “I'm in the Philosophy department.”

“It’s a small world.” Hotch smiled. “I love that school…I still give yearly. Did you do undergrad there?”

“No, I went to Columbia.”

“Oh look, Emily,” Natalie said. “It’s your first Smiths tee shirt.”

“Now that’s the Emily Prentiss I know.” Hotch said.

***

“What are you doing out here; its freezing?” Hotch was back in his coat as he slipped out of the sliding glass door and onto the back deck. Emily stood out there in a jacket as well, the awning protecting her from snow. It was falling fast and heavy; he wondered how much they would have by morning.

“Is Jack asleep?” She asked, still looking out into the night.

“Out like a light despite cocoa and a red velvet cupcake. He’s asleep on the lounger and I set up the rollaway bed for me.”

“Sorry about the sleeping arrangements.”

“There's nothing wrong with them. I'm glad your parents made room for us. What are you doing out here?”

“Poisoning myself.” Emily turned around a bit, showing him the clove.

“Ukrainian cloves…I heard a rumor that you liked them. Aren’t they illegal now?”

“You wanna arrest me? I have my handcuffs.”

For a moment, Hotch was too stunned to respond. He smiled and walked closer to her.

“I think I’ll let you off with a warning this time, young lady.”

“I appreciate it. Hotch?”

“Yeah?”

“I'm so glad you're here.” She looked at him and smiled. “I'm still glad even though you walked down a pretty embarrassing memory lane tonight.”

“We all have that memory lane.” He replied.

“Will you show me yours? Give me a little reciprocity for my pain?”

“I’ll think about it.” His dimples poked into his cheeks.

“Think long and hard, OK?”

“That’s something I'm good at.”

They were quiet for a while. Staring out at the snow, Hotch moved a little closer to Emily. He slipped his hand in hers as she leaned against him.

“I got my Christmas wish.” She whispered.

“What was it?”

“I wanted to spend it with you. I wanted to spend it with you and Jack. I'm growing quite fond of you two.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Hotch replied.

“I just…I fear growing too attached. It’s so easy to fall in love with Jack.”

“It’s quite easy to fall in love with you too, Emily. Jack is smitten. He glows when you're around and I honestly never thought I would see him glow again.”

“It’s a tough time for everyone.” Emily said. “This kind of situation can lead to confusion and…”

“Dishes flying?” Hotch’s lips quirked into a smile.

“What is with you and china Frisbees?” Emily asked laughing. She took a deep inhale of her clove before plucking it into the snowy darkness. “Is there something you want to tell me, Agent Hotchner?”

“Nope,” Hotch shook his head. “Well actually,” He turned her to face him, his arms around her waist. “Jack isn’t the only one smitten with you, Emily. It’s not easy for me to just blurt out how I feel but I do feel it. I've probably felt it for much longer than I let myself think about. I was quite happy Jack wanted to be with you tonight because there was nowhere else I wanted to be.”

“Is this the part where we kiss and the fireworks explode?”

“Yes.”

She smiled as his lips moved over hers. They hadn’t kissed since that night in her apartment, after taking Jack to the movies. It seemed as if they were closer after that, emotionally for sure, but not physically. Hotch almost seemed frightened of her, or more likely what he felt for her. He wasn’t sure if his feelings, strong as they were, would be worth the rules that would be broken.

Aaron Hotchner wasn’t a rule breaker, and he had his own set that was more demanding than the FBI’s could ever be. Many sleepless nights later, nothing could convince Hotch that loving Emily and being loved by her was wrong. Complicated, yes, but nearly everything had been for as long as he could remember. He trusted Prentiss; trusted her opinion, her judgment, her thoughts, and her actions. And he loved Emily.

“It’s freezing out here,” Hotch rubbed down Emily’s arms. “We should probably get back inside.”

Emily nodded and they went back into the den. The house was quiet now; they had the room to themselves. Josh and his grandfather were still playing chess, Natalie was resting before waking early to work on dinner, Julia and Nick were asleep after the ride from Westport, Connecticut, and Marianne was in bed as well. The fire was still roaring so they relaxed together on the couch. Hotch looked over at the beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

“There are a lot more gifts under there than when we came this evening.” He said.

“I guess we must’ve just missed Santa.”

Hotch crouched down and looked through the gift-wrapped boxes.

“Em?”

“Hmm?”

“A lot of these gifts are for Jack.”

“What?” Emily crouched down beside him. “Oh my God,”

“You didn’t buy these?”

“No,” She shook her head. “I bought him some gifts but they're still upstairs. I was going to swing by your place on the 26th and give them to him. This must have been Dad and Nat.”

“OK, so your stepmother saves the world, makes cookies, soup, and moonlights as one of Santa’s elves? How did she do this?”

“I honestly don’t know. Last month we were talking and I mentioned that I feared going overboard for Jack’s first Christmas without his mother. That’s all I said. My parents are…”

“They really are, Emily.” They sat on the couch together. Hotch put his arms around her. “I probably should've told you that your father sent the lovely wreath and card. I know you didn’t have the easiest time growing up, I can certainly identify, but this house is filled with such love and peace. I've only been here for a few hours and it permeates through every fiber.”

“I'm glad,” Emily cuddled close to him. “I want to be a safe place for you. I want you to feel good when we’re together.”

“I always feel good with you.”

Hotch caressed her face in his hands, kissing her. First they were soft and tentative, and then turned deep and passionate. Emily moaned into his mouth, her fingers running through his hair.

“We should probably get some sleep.” Emily said, never wanting to leave his arms. “I know Jack is going to be up early…he’s so excited.”

“Lets sit a little while longer.” Hotch replied. “Having you in my arms is much more of a comfort than a rollaway bed.”

Emily didn’t want him in the rollaway bed; she wanted to be held while she slept. That might be confusing for Jack though; they had to take it slow. Jack wasn’t the only reason to take it slow. The New Year would be interesting indeed. In his arms, Emily didn’t care about that. She wasn’t worried about old rules, teammates, or the wrath of a vengeful Section Chief. All she cared about was the warmth that flowed through her and the fact that Hotch wanted to hold on as long as she did.

***


End file.
